Passengers on pleasure boats are faced with the problem of collecting and disposing of waste material including excreta and other human waste generated during the voyage. The large numbers of pleasure boats on the water today render it unsanitary to dump this waste material directly into the water; this is especially true with such relatively confined bodies of waters as lakes and coastal waterways and near marinas and other areas where large numbers of boats congregate. Accordingly, many pleasure craft are provided with self-contained bathroom facilities or portable toilets in which this waste material may be collected.
Because the holding tanks on such pleasure craft contain relatively small amounts of this waste, they must frequently be emptied. Land-based collection stations located near marinas are predominantly used to remove this waste from pleasure craft holding tanks because of the easy availability of sewer lines and power to operate pumps. However, the dock space at such marinas is limited, preventing the dedication of dock space for a waste collection stations. The dock space provided for such a collection station may also not be easily accessible. Additionally, such land-based collection sites are inappropriate in remote areas where such craft may congregate because sewer lines and power for pumping stations are not found in such remote areas; further, these remote areas may not be provided with permanent docks which can be piped to accommodate such a land-based collection station.
In at least one instance, a floating waste collection station has been provided in a lake. This collection station comprised a converted barge provided with a solar powered electric pump for pumping waste from the pleasure craft holding tank into the hold of the barge. A pleasure craft is tied up to the barge, and the operator of the pleasure craft operates the pump as necessary to empty the holding tank of his craft. While this barge was nominally effective, it suffered many problems related to the design and construction of the barge and waste removal system provided thereon.